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Central Division SCCA Formula B 1971

Central Division continued to have a a competitive FB category although the number of points scorers dropped from 20 to 12. As in 1970, Brabhams dominated with Chuck Dietrich winning the title in his ex-Chet Freeman BT29 followed by Steve Harris and Michael Hall who had both exchanged their BT29s for newer BT35s.

After the almost complete Brabham dominance in 1970, Chevron, Lola and newcomer March were all successful selling cars into Central Division. Unfortunately, none were entirely convincing.

Standings as of 30 September 1971

1. Chuck DietrichBrabham [BT29]NEOhio48 pts†
2. Steve HarrisBrabham [BT35]Fort Wayne39 pts†
3. Mike HallBrabham [BT29,BT35]Chicago34 pts 
4. Carl LiebichChevron [B18]Milwaukee19 pts†
5. Dan CarmichaelChevron [B18]Detroit18 pts†
6. Quin CalhounLola [T240]Chicago16 pts 
7. "Bud" JacksonLola [T240]Iowa13 pts†
8. Russ TyndallBrabham [BT35]Chicago9 pts 
9. Peter W NyeBrabham [BT29]NW Ohio6 pts 
10. "Tuck" ThomasBrabham [BT21/BT29?]Land O'Lakes5 pts 
11. Geoffrey FreemanMarch [71BM]Western Ohio1 pt   
12. Dale LangMarch [71BM]Land O'Lakes1 pt   

† Indicates total includes points earned out of home division.

Central Division SCCA Nationals in 1971

16 May 1971Michigan International SpeedwayWestern Michigan Region
30 May 1971BrainerdLand O'Lakes Region
20 Jun 1971Road AmericaChicago Region
05 Jul 1971Mid-OhioCincinnati Region
25 Jul 1971Blackhawk FarmsIndiana NW Region
08 Aug 1971Grattan RacewayWestern Michigan Region
22 Aug 1971Blackhawk FarmsBlackhawk Valley Region
06 Sep 1971Michigan International SpeedwayDetroit Region
19 Sep 1971Nelson LedgesNEOhio Region
03 Oct 1971Indianapolis Raceway ParkIndianapolis Region
10 Oct 1971Blackhawk FarmsMilwaukee Region

When Sports Car published the standings for Central Division as of 30 September 1971, the Nationals listed were MIS, Donnybrooke, Road America, Mid-Ohio, Blackhawk Farms, Grattan, Blackhawk Farms,, MIS and Nelson Ledges. That suggests the table above omits the results from IRP on 3 October and Blackhawk Farms on 10 October.

Midwestern Council Championship final standings

The MCSCC ran a series of races in 1971, generally at Blackhawk Farms Raceway, and usually opened the meeting with a race for Formula cars. The grids were typically comprised of Formula Ford, Formula Vee and a sprinkling of elderly Formula C cars, but Gerald Geishart turned up once with his Formula A Lola T142, and Rick Koehler raced a Formula B Autodynamics-Porsche twice, finished well behinds the Formula Fords, and was announced as Formula B champion with 24 points.

1. Rick Koehler [Autodynamics-Porsche] MCSCC 24 pts

Central Division sources

Most of our knowledge of CenDiv racing comes from the SCCA's Sports Car magazine and from Competition Press & Autoweek. We are very keen to acquire, borrow or receive copies of 1960s, 1970s and 1980s SCCA regional publications from this Division. There were many such newsletters in this Division, including:

  • Auto-Graph (Indiana Northwest Region)
  • Backfire (Western Michigan Region)
  • Blower (Northeast Ohio Region)
  • Class Q and later CinChronizer (Cincinnati Region)
  • Clutch Chatter (Indianapolis Region)
  • Clutch Chatter (Northwestern Ohio Region)
  • Crashbox (Golden Triangle Region)
  • Down Shift (Central Illinois Region)
  • Downshift (Kentucky Region)
  • The Drift (Milwaukee Region)
  • Drifting (Des Moines Valley Region)
  • The Fifth Wheel (Northeastern Michigan Region)
  • The Four Wheel Drift (Fort Wayne Region)
  • Iowa Regional News (Iowa Region)
  • Newsletter (Central Kentucky Region)
  • Ohio Valley Regional News and Observers Stand (Ohio Valley Region)
  • Open Exhaust (Detroit Region)
  • Piston Patter (Chicago Region)
  • Pit Board (South Bend Region)
  • The Pit Stop (Southern Indiana Region)
  • The Racket (Tennessee Valley Region)
  • Recaps (Eastern Tennessee Region)
  • Rev Record (Western Ohio Region)
  • S.I.R. SCCA Newsletter (Southern Indiana Region)
  • Smoke Signals (Blackhawk Valley Region)
  • The Tonneau (Land O'Lakes Region)

Also relevant are some non-SCCA publications, notably that of the Midwestern Council of Sports Car Clubs (MCSCC), based in the Chicago area:

  • Klaxon (Midwestern Council of Sports Car Clubs)

We are also keen to get scans of entry lists from SCCA Nationals in this Division.